Prescott: why shouldn't Muslim women wear veil? | October 08, 2006

The Deputy Prime Minister said today that Muslim women should be free to choose to wear a veil, and said he feared the debate on the issue could harm community relations.

John Prescott said Jack Straw, the Leader of the Commons, had been right to raise the issue, insisting it should not be a "no go area for debate".

But he voiced concern that it could also lead to "considerable difficulties" in terms of community relations.

Mr Straw sparked outrage in sections of the Muslim community last week when he described the veil as a "visible statement of separation", and said he asked women visiting his constituency surgery in Blackburn to remove it.

Mr Prescott said he discussed the issue with Mr Straw earlier this year.

He said he would not follow Mr Straw's example and ask women visiting him to remove the veil.

"I think a woman who wants to wear a veil - why shouldn't she? It is her choice. It is a cultural difference but it is her choice," he said.

"If somebody comes into my constituency, whether they are wearing a skull cap or wearing a turban or very dark glasses, I'm not going to ask them to remove it. I think you can communicate with them."

Mr Straw received backing for his intervention from Phil Woolas, the minister responsible for community cohesion, race and faith.

The Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, said she would not ask Muslim women to remove their veils. She admitted that she had in the past regarded the veil as a symbol of women's oppression, but changed her mind after a meeting with a Muslim woman in her Leicester West constituency.
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